Defenses against the use of this verse as a support for emphasizing the right of leaders to exercise command authority over a believer’s life. In summary, this may be the most mistranslated verse of the entire Bible.

Defenses against the idea that singular leaders are the preferred model for church organization. There are various levels of implementing this concept that range from the Catholic’s view of having one man, the pope, as the vicar of Christ who heads a large international hierarchy of priests all the way down to small congregations with a single pastor over a relatively small flock.

In recent writings, Romans 13:1-3 have been used to emphasize the need for believers to submit to all authorities setup by God. Included in all is church leaders. This is a defense against that view and an exposition of this passage that will clearly show that a believer’s submission to authorities does not directly extend to church leaders based on this passage. This passage is clearly limited in scope.